Brand Refresh? CBC mulling options for potential new ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ chapter

TORONTO – As the CBC mulls over how to fill a vacated Saturday night block now that NHL games won’t return to its schedule this fall, another question remains at the forefront.

How best to potentially incorporate the “Hockey Night in Canada” brand it retained when the broadcaster’s sub-licensing agreement with Rogers Communications ended last weekend?

“It could very well be the PWHL,” said Mike Naraine, an associate sport management professor at Brock University. “And I think that is obviously a very strong play for the CBC.

“I think if they were smart, they would truly invest into that and really start to position the PWHL as its prime-time Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.”

The CBC was one of several broadcasters that shared Canadian broadcast rights for the Professional Women’s Hockey League last season.

TSN aired 54 of 120 regular-season games while Sportsnet (30), Prime Video (19) and CBC/CBC Gem (17) rounded things out. Games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were carried by either the CBC, TSN or Sportsnet.

All 30 Montréal Victoire games, meanwhile, were broadcast in French across RDS (17), Radio-Canada on ICI TÉLÉ and ICI TOU.TV (7), and Prime Video (6).

The 12-team league, which will include four expansion teams starting next season, is on the upswing as it enters its fourth campaign. The PWHL traditionally releases its schedule and broadcast plans in the fall.

Sportsnet, which is part of Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications, issued a joint statement with the CBC last Tuesday to confirm their 12-year NHL broadcast partnership had ended.

NHL games will continue to air on Sportsnet when the league’s new Canadian rights deal with Rogers starts this fall. The CBC previously aired national NHL games on Saturdays, along with all four playoff rounds each year.

The public broadcaster has the Olympic rights in Canada and broadcasts several winter and summer sports.

In a statement, the CBC said it planned to move forward with a “new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success” of the recent Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

The broadcaster also said it planned to “significantly increase” sports coverage and would launch a new Saturday night prime-time show highlighting Canadian athletes. There was no mention of potential “Hockey Night in Canada” plans.

“We take the position as the stewards of that trademark really seriously, and we’re excited to look at what a refreshed Hockey Night in Canada could look like going forward,” CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson said in a phone interview.

“And I don’t think we have any limits or ideas at the moment, but we want to make sure that it continues to thrive.”

The PWHL and Canadian university hockey coverage (U Sports) are certainly possibilities for a new chapter.

Winter sport cousins like curling and figure skating also draw strong ratings and could be possibilities for the Saturday night spotlight.

The CBC did note in its statement that it plans to increase coverage of women’s pro leagues moving forward.

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“They (have the) ability now to say in our 75th year (of HNIC), ‘We’re going to change it up. We’re going to mix it up with the growth that is women’s professional sport,'” Naraine said. “That is where Canadians are flocking to more and more.”

In addition to the Olympics, the CBC also broadcasts multi-sport events like the Commonwealth Games and Pan Am Games. Other notable sports under its coverage umbrella include swimming, snowboarding, skiing, speedskating, track and field, and domestic leagues like the CEBL, NSL and CPL.

“What the CBC does in (non-Olympic) years is going to be critical and pivotal to the long-term success of the CBC sports portfolio,” Naraine said.

“Having an anchor like the PWHL and bringing on more women’s sports products (is) going to be pivotal.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2026.